Winnebago basement air

My buddy had it in his 40' Ultimate Freedom. Couldnt get the living area to cool to his satisfaction. Added a free standing portable unit to augment it. And I believe he couldnt run both compressors on 30A?

I can run both rooftop ACs on 30A.

A friend just showed me a mini-split ductless heat pump that he had installed in the basement of his 5th wheel. He loves it! It is almost silent and cools better than the much noisier and higher rated unit in the ceiling. I have been studying my class A for a place to put the outside part but have not found one yet. I sure wish that I could get a factory made ceiling unit that is inverter drive. I wouldn't mind having the coils inside if it helped to quiet the unit down some.

Some people have reported problems obtaining parts for the Winnebago units. Has that been solved?
Also at least two people have posted that they have added a rooftop AC because the basement AC did not cool their 40 foot units enough.
You might try a google on "John Canfield roof ac". He has pictures and info on the project posted on his blog and another forum.

Groover wrote:
A friend just showed me a mini-split ductless heat pump that he had installed in the basement of his 5th wheel. He loves it! It is almost silent and cools better than the much noisier and higher rated unit in the ceiling. I have been studying my class A for a place to put the outside part but have not found one yet. I sure wish that I could get a factory made ceiling unit that is inverter drive. I wouldn't mind having the coils inside if it helped to quiet the unit down some.

IMHO, the Mini Splits will be the new thing for RV's - once the factory understand that they are more efficient and they really heat and COOL so much better. The new high end units will heat down to 0 degrees and still out preform your electric heaters.

Once they figure how to install them we will all be happier, guiet and efficient.

JMHO,

We have a SCS basement air unit and, IMHO, they cool much better than our other coach with 2 roof top units. DW is always asking me to turn off one compressor even though she is under an Afghan. Friends popped over the other day when it was over 100 and commented they can't get their coach as cool with 3 roof top units.

The funny thing is that the air temp isn't cool but the air from the ducts is frigid. One reason may be the amount of air being delivered is much higher than the roof top units.

Had one .. worked great and much quieter than the overhead units. One point to be aware of is that the AC duct goes up the back wall and connects to the ceiling ducts. That duct between the outside fiberglass and inside wall had a problem in that it would separate at the top where it connected to the horizontal duct, spilling cold air out. thus doing a Lousy job of cooling.
The area is very hard to get to without removing the rear fiberglass cap $$$ . If you buy one, actually BEFORE, take a flashlight and take a peek up the vertical duct .. normally you can see if its failed ( and feel cold air spilling out )

One other point. They may be more expensive to repair but since you typically can not repair the roof top unit (only replace) it's a tough comparison. One the other hand the basement units (at least the SCS) are basically the same as a residential unit so you can compare the costs and failure intervals to your home unit.

I will tell you I was camping with a friend a few weeks ago. He has a Winnebago Adventurer with the basement AC unit, I have a Tropical DP with two roof units. Outside temp got to 106 one day of our trip in California. My AC's were running non-stop and could just barely keep the inside temp below 80. He had his motorhome so cold his wife had to use a blanket to take a nap. I think he got it down to 72.

Is that a valid comparison? I don't know, all I can tell you is the facts. And even when my motorhome was brand new I took it to Vegas in 105 plus temps, and both AC units functioned about the same as they do now. When it's well over 100 out, I can get the inside temp down to 78 to 80.

Had one in the previous RV. It worked great. It was quiet as long as you were not in the bedroom, but if you used it at night, or used the electric heat pump at night you found you were sleeping right on top of the noise. Again, because it is in the back it is much quieter during daytime activities up front.
I was told that it is no longer used because Coleman no longer supported the product. If this is true it will make future repair problematic. When I had that fear in the past, as my A/C did need service and a part, I was assured by the technician (who I know well) that worst case scenario I could easily put two A/C units on the roof and pull the basement air without "significant" cost.
We had that coach for 11 years, traveling all through the hot West. The basement A/C worked well.

msmith1199 wrote:
I will tell you I was camping with a friend a few weeks ago. He has a Winnebago Adventurer with the basement AC unit, I have a Tropical DP with two roof units. Outside temp got to 106 one day of our trip in California. My AC's were running non-stop and could just barely keep the inside temp below 80. He had his motorhome so cold his wife had to use a blanket to take a nap. I think he got it down to 72.

Is that a valid comparison? I don't know, all I can tell you is the facts. And even when my motorhome was brand new I took it to Vegas in 105 plus temps, and both AC units functioned about the same as they do now. When it's well over 100 out, I can get the inside temp down to 78 to 80.

That is about as close to a comparison as I can get. We can argue about whose system was better maintained, etc. But, that is a pretty good comparison. Thanks.